Fix Me, Doctor
by ninajunkie
Summary: Twelve years doesn't seem like such a long time when I have been building my life since the day I left Forks, every aspect of my life having changed. When I finally look into Edward's eyes after moving back to Washington, twelve years seems like a lifetime.
1. Nice To Meet You, Doctor

**Disclaimer: **All recognizable characters from the Twilight Series are copyright to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. All original characters are mine.**  
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**Chapter One  
Nice To Meet You, Doctor**

It is actually quite a beautiful Tuesday afternoon and the first since I have been back in Washington. The rain hasn't made an appearance once today. It is for that very reason that I merely just shrug and hastily agree when my best friend, in one quick sentence, invite me out of the office for coffee, insults my work ethics, and then threatens me.

I stand up from behind my desk, purposefully showcasing the way I am rolling my eyes at her.

"Really, Bella," she says with a wave of her arms and a dramatic huff. "You need to stop eating lunch up here and enjoy more breaks _downstairs_."

"Whatever you say, Alice."

Usually, I would protest her remarks about me working too hard and she would eventually give in, run down to the café on the first floor of the hospital, and bring me a large cup of coffee. This time, she mentions cutting through the surgery pavilion and taking a quick walk outside.

Alice grabs my hand and practically drags me out of my office and out of our clinic.

I turn my head to look behind us once we reach the elevators in our tower, and I admire the large sign that hangs above the entrance that we had just exited moments before.

_Teenage and Young Adult Pregnancy Clinic_.

Sure, it's a lengthy name, but Alice and I are immensely proud of all our hard work.

Luck has a lot to do with it as well, because if there hasn't been some sort of colossal force out there that has kept us side by side for six years, then I have no idea what is responsible.

Strangely enough, I met Alice when we both started our pre-med programs. _Almost killing her_ would actually be the more accurate description. My dad, Charlie, had been helping me move my stuff into my dorm room, and I had been dragging my rolling suitcase behind me while carrying three large pillows. Big mistake. Right before I made to turn into my room, I ran right into her. Given my overloaded state and her surprise, we collapsed in a heap of arms, limbs, and pillows. I ended up on top of her with one of my pillows muffling her requests to get off of her.

Alice, as I later learned, has an uplifting spirit, so she simply brushed it off, calling me a worrywart. I had been so embarrassed. It was a hell of an introduction to the person I was going to spend a year living with. With that incident, though, she made quite the impression on Charlie, and before he left to head back home, he told me to keep her around. Charlie knew it had always been hard for me to make female friends.

Thankfully, we hit it off so well that we became best friends instantly, and by the end of the year, we were practically inseparable. It was a no-brainer for the two of us to continue to request each other as roommates at the end of each year. We were friends, great roommates, and were going through the pre-med program together. She not only made for a great study buddy, but also someone who could understand all of my complaints and stresses, since she was experiencing the same. The reason I say luck had a lot to do with our relationship is that we were both in the pre-med/medical school program, both with our emphasis in obstetrics and gynecology.

Luck had been on our side even more, when miraculously, we both did our residencies through the same hospital.

We had the great task of moving practically eight hours from Chicago to Kansas City.

We were separated for two years when she went to Seattle—out of all places—to work. I stayed back in Kansas to work at the University of Kansas Hospital. However, since the second year of our residency, we had been planning to open up a clinic to help teenagers and young adults through pregnancy. We had worked so hard on all the details and had come up with so many ideas, that by the time she left Kansas City, all we had to do was write up a business plan.

When Alice fell in love with Washington, I knew I would need to go back home. Fortunately, I wasn't excessively fond of Kansas, and six years was far too long there.

Our clinic had officially opened just two months ago. The board of directors at the University of Washington had loved our proposal so much that they had helped us get the funding started and moved around some other clinics that needed remodeling anyway. We had our perfect spot right next to the Maternal and Infant Care clinical office.

I couldn't have imagined anything better before turning 30.

The ding of the elevator instantly brings me out of my thoughtful stupor and I realize that I've been ignoring Alice talk about the new guy she has been dating. The doors open, inviting us onto the first floor of the hospital. Turning the corner, I see the Plaza Café and walk into it for the first time in the two months I have been here.

Maybe Alice is right. I really need to step out of the clinic more.

The strong aroma of coffee hits my senses instantly and so intensely, that I accidentally bump into someone turning away from the counter. Thankfully, he only has an unopened bag of chips in his hands, so nothing gets spilled. I apologize profusely to the man before he walks away.

Sometimes, I still feel like a fumbling teenage girl.

"So, do you think I should?" Alice asks me as she pulls out a ten dollar bill from her white doctor's coat.

There are only two people ahead of us in line and the cashier seems to be attempting to set the hospital's record for longest transaction.

"Do what?" I ask stupidly, inching forward in the line.

"Go out with Jasper again this weekend. Duh, Bella… Where have you been?" She furrows her eyebrows and gives me a look that can probably kill me.

"Sorry," I apologize quietly. "I just lost my train of thought after bumping into that guy."

"Still the ever clumsy Bella." She says that every time I trip or run into something.

Wanting to shift the focus away from me, I change the subject back to her earlier topic. "I think you should go, Alice. You seem to like him very much." There is now only one person in front of us in line.

"Of course I do. But three weekends in a row? That doesn't make me seem desperate, does it?" She sounds as though it really doesn't bother her if it makes her desperate or not. When Alice wants something, she goes after it. This time, it just happens to be the appealing honey-blond man that works in Human Resources.

"Not at all." I say it to reassure her, even though we both know she doesn't need it.

"Two medium skinny lattes, please," she orders. Sometimes it scares me how different we can be, and yet at other times we are so alike that it seems we were separated at birth.

Before she is able to hand her money to the cashier, I push the bill that I have ready into his waiting hand, telling him to throw the change into the tip jar.

"Bella!" she scolds, even though we both turn to walk away. "I was going to pay!"

"You always pay," I point out. It is true. "Since I finally ventured out of the clinic, I can pay."

"You're a difficult girl to buy things for, Bella. The only thing I know you love is coffee."

It is another truth and yet another difference between us. Saying that Alice is a shopaholic would be the biggest understatement I could ever make. I have always joked that if she hadn't taken the path to become a doctor, she would have been a fashion designer or an interior decorator. I, on the other hand, could not care less about what I wear or what our condo looks like. I would also be lying if I said that Alice doesn't have a major say in my "professional doctor's wardrobe," as she likes to put it. Without her policing my wardrobe, I would probably be the most casual gynecologist anyone would ever come across. If I thought I could get away with it, I would spend my life wearing only jeans and band t-shirts.

Now that each of us have a coffee in our hands, we make our way through the hospital to head outside.

"When are you going to start dating someone, Bella?" Alice teasingly pokes me in the ribs with her elbow right before we start climbing down the spiral staircase that will lead us back down to the first floor.

"Never." She shoots me another death glare. "I'm too busy." I give my most menacing death glare back, signaling the end of the conversation. I certainly don't want to be in a relationship right now because it really wouldn't be fair to the clinic or to the poor man who would be fighting for my attention. Anyone smart enough would back off, because dating a doctor, no less the director of a large clinic, would be disastrous. Plus, I have a lot of baggage that not even a professional bodybuilder could carry.

We finally step off the staircase, about to walk toward the glass doors of the building, when I notice someone walking from the coffee stand straight ahead from us. Alice and I always prefer the coffee from the Plaza Café because it always seems blended the best.

I see a familiar pair of green eyes combined with that bronze hair and strong jawline. Even after twelve years, I certainly remember that perfect face. Recognition appears on his face and his eyes light up as he turns slightly from the path he was walking to move toward me instead.

He is seriously going to come and talk to me. He remembers me. But of course. Why wouldn't he?

I stop just a few footfalls from the doors and It takes Alice a few seconds to recognize that I am no longer beside her, so she backtracks.

"Isabella?" His voice still sounds like an angel's.

I shake my head, hoping he will remember. He knows better than to call me that, although he probably does it out of politeness.

A smile shows upon those perfectly round lips of his as he chuckles a bit and briefly nods.

"Bella. Of course. It's been way too long."

Even with the coffee grasped in one of his hands, he leans in to give me a quick, friendly hug. Without a doubt in my mind, I hug him back.

"Edward," I greet in return. "How are you?"

I still cannot believe he remembers me. The last time I saw him was on the night we graduated from high school.

"I've been great. Actually, much better now." I'm not quite sure what he means by that, but my smile grows. "How are you doing? You look great."

I'm silently thanking Alice for the wardrobe help, now more than I ever have before. I can feel the slight blush grow on my cheeks, but I still offer thanks in reply.

"I'm doing pretty well. I finally moved back to Washington just a couple of months ago."

"Oh, you've been away?" He seems genuinely curious.

"Yeah, after we graduated, I moved to Chicago for college, and then I was in the Kansas City area for another six years." A part of me feels so nervous and awkward telling him so much all at once, but another part me wants to spill out my entire life story to him.

"So, do you work at the hospital then?" I don't have any scrubs or my doctor's coat on like Alice does.

"Alice and I just opened up a clinic here." I grab her hand and pull her forward, a bit in front of me. "Edward, this is my best friend, Alice. Alice, this is an old friend from high school, Edward."

"Pleasure to meet you," Edward greets charmingly, shaking Alice's hand determinedly.

"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine." Flirtatious as ever; that is how Alice is toward anyone. Whether it's a man or a woman and they are at least decently put together, she flirts.

"You both opened up the new teen pregnancy clinic?" he asks, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets.

"It's something we have been planning for years. Gynecologists working with only teens, who would have thought," Alice tells him, acting as though they are already great friends.

"That sounds incredible, really. It's a great and amazing idea you have come up with. Teens often feel confused and neglected when pregnant, but I've heard that your facility treats them respectably."

"Are you a doctor here?" I instantly regret spitting those words out. Of course he is… I mentally slap myself because he clearly has dark blue scrubs on.

He nods his head and says, "I'm close to finishing my surgical cardiothoracic residency here."

Honestly, it doesn't surprise me, seeing how his father was—probably still is—the lead surgeon back in Forks at the only hospital there. Edward had been voted 'Most Likely to Succeed' in our senior yearbook, and we all certainly hit that nail on the head.

"Well, hopefully I'll see you around more."

"Definitely. It was great running into you, Bella."

He leans in to give me another hug, and I take a bit of a longer moment to breathe in his wonderful scent and feel the ends of his soft hair brush against my forehead.

How had I ever let him go?

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**A/N:** A huge amount of _thank you's_ go out to **Lyta7** and **hammondgirl** from the wonderful place that is **Project ****Team Beta** and the awesome mods that run this spectacular service!

**A/N 2:** Sorry to everyone that came on over here to read this story and saw that it had been taken down. I wanted to get so many things in order first and unfortunately many came over here unsatisfied. If you had added me to your author alerts, thank you so much for being patient!

**Twitter:** ninajunkie  
Add me! I am in desperate need to build this twitter up!


	2. Before I Became a Doctor

******Disclaimer: **All recognizable characters from the Twilight Series are copyright to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. All original characters are mine.******  
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**Chapter Two  
Before I Became a Doctor**

Edward walks away, his lovely back retreating into the elevator. Alice and I finally pass through the automatic glass doors, starting our own walk. Obviously it has been cut quite short by the appearance of the blast from my past. I haven't said a single word to Alice yet, and I can tell she is inwardly itching for details.

I take a couple sips from my coffee and just keep walking, hearing the murmur of people strolling by and the clicking of our sensible work heels against the concrete sidewalk.

"Are you going to spill the beans?" she finally asks, having given me enough time to open up on my own.

"There's nothing to tell," I lie, taking another sip of my coffee.

She snorts and rolls her eyes. "Bullshit, Bella!"

She has absolutely no filter to her words and will always say what is on her mind. Maybe that's why she works so well with teenagers. She has no problem laying out their options and being quite blunt about their situations, making them think logically when they are feeling overwhelmed and emotional.

"We went to high school together, that's all." I take yet another slow sip of my coffee, taking care not to drink too much of the hot liquid in case I really need a distraction for my lips, not wanting to say anything further.

"I think you have an impressive amount of good luck." She holds this wicked smirk on her face as she finishes her cup, throwing it into a trash bin as we walk past. What the hell does she mean by that?

Of course, she takes my silence as an opportunity to further explain. "You have been able to keep your amazing, beautiful best friend as your roommate through seven years of pre-med and medical school, four years of residency, and end up working together. You go to high school in Forks, Washington, out of all places with an wonderful, handsome man and then end up working as doctors in the _same hospital_ in Seattle."

She huffed and added, "Fate is on your side, Bella."

"Oh, what about you? If I recall correctly, you happen to be the best friend in this story. _And_ you have found quite the handsome man for yourself."

"Bella, Bella…I know that! I'm trying to convince you here."

Finally fed up with my coffee cup and how absolutely right she is, I down the rest of the cool latte and throw my own cup away.

_We really should start recycling,_ I think, completely off topic. My mind tends to wander when someone compliments me.

"It doesn't matter—nothing is going to happen between me and Edward." It sounds so definite and final when it comes out of my mouth, but it surely doesn't feel that way.

"Fuck, it definitely didn't seem like it with the way he kept staring at you." It seems that Alice had noticed it as well.

A blush unwillingly creeps up into my cheeks. How in the world does this man I haven't seen in almost twelve years have this effect on me? None of the other men who have hit on me, none of the boyfriends I had through college, have ever made me feel this way. My world feels like its spinning, and Edward has only been back in it for less than half an hour.

"I think he is smitten with you, Bella," Alice murmurs confidently.

As we walk back toward the hospital and into the clinic to finish the rest of the afternoon, I can't help but think how wrong Alice is. I think I am the one who is smitten.

The rest of the week has gone by in such a quick blur.

I am currently working on the special case of a high-risk teenager, Alyson, who is only fifteen years old and adamant about keeping her baby. Alice has been helping me in her spare time by trying to pull some extra resources for her. I want to be able to accommodate her wishes and still make sure that she will have a successful delivery. Unfortunately, the father of the baby wants nothing to do with her and walked out of her and the baby's life the second he found out she was pregnant. Her mother and father have been worried, wanting what they think is best for their daughter, pushing for adoption.

We had to organize extra counseling sessions for Alyson and her parents on Wednesday and then another one this morning. I eventually had to dig through all of the resources we have available to make sure she will get special care.

This morning, I made the final decision that I want to deliver this girl's baby myself, no matter when it happens. Throughout this past month, she has developed high blood pressure—nothing serious enough to intervene with her progress, but enough to have me worried. I am also anxious she is becoming a risk for pre-eclampsia with her high protein results lately.

The look on her face every time she talks about her baby melts my heart, and I want to do everything possible for Alyson and make sure this is what she wants. With even more help from Alice, we were able to arrange a meeting with another fifteen-year-old who also made the decision to keep her baby, now a single mother. We wanted Alyson to see a possibility of what her future could be like.

She has such high spirits and had put her foot down, her heart set upon dealing with the consequences of her actions.

It doesn't go without saying that she isn't scared, because she certainly is.

During the past week, I talked to her on the phone every day, up until her appointment this morning. Then I decided t flat out tell her of my plans. Her original due date is in three more weeks, and if all goes well, she will make it until then and deliver a healthy and beautiful baby girl.

Besides taking care of everything for Alyson, I also had other patients to help in the clinic and a pregnancy prevention seminar to plan with Alice.

During rare moments of peace in between all of my rushing, I would instantly think of Edward. I know exactly what department he works in, leaving only three places where he could be if I decided to search, and they are all located in the surgery pavilion. I was terrified of looking like a stalker, so that idea went right out the window.

I really want to see him again, and a few times the thought would cross my mind to wander around the surgery pavilion to see if I could spot him.

Alice prodded me for more information about him every chance she got, but honestly there really isn't a whole lot to tell.

Edward and I both grew up in Forks, about a four and a half hour drive from Seattle. Edward's father was—I am unsure if he currently still is—the lead surgeon at Forks General Hospital, and everyone in town loved him, the generous and handsome Carlisle Cullen. My father Charlie was, and still is, the Chief of Police back in Forks and everyone loves him, too. Edward and I grew up with the town heroes as our fathers.

Before our junior year in high school, _close friends_ would not have been a good title for our relationship because we were never _friends_ to begin with. He was my lab partner in Biology during our junior year, and I believe that was the first time we had ever really had a conversation. We also had English class together that year and then several classes during senior year.

I have to admit that I had quite the crush on Edward Cullen throughout all of junior year, and it had taken me by complete surprise when he asked me to go with him to prom. I was way too infatuated to decline, and since we showed up to the school that night with arms locked together, we were all everyone talked about.

However, we never actually had a romantic relationship.

We would see each other in secret every once in awhile. We had agreed that we never wanted to become the small town's only topic of gossip and we continued that way until we graduated. I was to go off to Chicago to study at Northwestern University, and he stayed to attend Washington State University in Seattle.

We intended there to be no hard feelings between us. Before leaving, we talked about making plans to visit each other and stay in contact through phone calls and e-mails. He had become my best friend after prom. When I would bitch and moan about my mother who lived in Arizona and eventually ended up traveling to Florida with her boyfriend, Edward would always listen.

When I would go through the occasional crazy moods of mine, feeling like I didn't belong in this world, he would listen. Edward would rub my back, move my hair out of my face, and kiss me so hard that I would remember that I just didn't belong in Forks.

Edward was such an amazing person. Before Alice, he had been my go-to person and the shoulder I'd lean on. But since we parted ways after graduation and slowly faded into each others' backgrounds, I've realized that I knew nothing about him.

How in the world am I supposed to walk up to him and expect to continue where things left off between us?

If that is what he wants, he knows exactly where I work and can come up here anytime. But, he still hasn't.

I'm finishing up some last minute reports on my computer before leaving for the weekend when I hear a knock on my open office door. It's Alice with her cute pixie haircut, the black strands tucked behind her ears. She looks almost as tired as I feel. Alyson's tough case has drained us this week.

"I can wait for you if you're almost done," she says, leaning her head on the crisp white doorjamb.

"Just finishing this one on my last patient," I reply, desperately ready to head back to our condo.

"While you finish, I'm going to go down to HR." She gives me a smile to indicate she knows that I know exactly why she is going down there.

As long as I am able to finish my report in quiet and still make it home with some company, Alice can go wherever she pleases.

It takes me just ten more minutes to finish the report, save it onto the patient's electronic chart, and check it off as my last to-do for the week.

I'm in the process of shutting down my computer and stuffing some files that I'm going to need this weekend, into my briefcase when I hear a knock on my door again.

"Alice, I'm almost done!" I shout, not even bothering to look up, expecting her to be there with all the impatience in the world.

"Sorry. Am I bothering you?"

The deep voice definitely doesn't belong to Alice. I whip my head up and notice Edward standing at the doorway, leaning against the frame, his arms folded over his chest. He has such a smug look on his face, but damn, it looks sexy.

"Edward!" I greet him as I tuck my falling hair behind my ear. "I thought you were Alice."

"I can assure you that I am not Alice," he says, walking further into my office. My computer is finally shut down, and my briefcase is all packed. "She is currently consorting with my best friend."

I shoot him an incredulous look and question what he's talking about.

"It seems your friend Alice and my friend Jasper have been dating and are currently making plans for tonight."

"Well, damn." I let myself fall back into my chair at my desk and huff. "She was my ride home."

"You two live together?" Edward looks at me with strange curiosity and moves to sit on the edge of my desk to my right. He leans comfortably on his arm, and heat continues to radiate from his eyes as he stares at me. I want to melt away and crawl into that pit in my stomach that forms whenever I meet his eyes.

"For now."

He grabs my hand and gently pulls me to stand up. The action causes me to become so close to him that his scent surrounds me and I can stare into his green eyes. I swear he can feel the heat from my blushing, radiating off of my skin.

"If you'd like …" he begins, still holding onto my hands, unblinkingly looking into my eyes, "… I can take you home."

Did my heart seriously just skip a few beats? I really think it did. My lips slightly part as I stare at him in awe, trying hard to not look desperate.

All I can mutter in response is a squeaky agreement.

I mean, it doesn't have to be awkward, does it? It would only be a ride home, and I live just under five miles away from the hospital. Yet, do I really want Edward to know where I live? In fact, I have no clue at all where he lives, so does he know if my place is even in the same direction? Why would he want to drive me five miles in one direction, only to turn around and go the opposite way?

It's just my luck that none of these over analytical thoughts come rushing through the gates of my mouth. I actually think the nerve from my brain connecting to my lips has been severed by his proximity.

Edward smiles at me, steps away, and begins to walk out of my office.

"Where are you going?" I ask stupidly. He's obviously going to the parking garage to take me home. Didn't I just establish this? "Nevermind," I say even quicker and turn around to grab my briefcase, hoping to the almighty powers controlling my life that he doesn't notice how blood-red my cheeks probably are.

All I hear is him chuckling, and the sound is so beautiful that it consumes me and I barely hear him say, "Bella, you're still adorable."

And in this exact moment, I swear that dragonflies are invading my stomach and my heart has just exploded.

Yes, they are dragonflies because my brain has also melted to the point that I don't remember what butterflies are.

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**A/N: **Thank you so much to the wonderful people over at **Project Team Beta**, especially **SecretlySeverus and RaindropSoup** who both were awesome betas for this chapter, and also the mods over there!

Follow me on **Twitter**: ninajunkie


	3. I Don't Tell the Doctor Everything

******Disclaimer: **All recognizable characters from the Twilight Series are copyright to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. All original characters are mine.******  
**

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**Chapter Three  
I Don't Tell the Doctor Everything**

For some unknown reason, it still surprises me that a mere five mile drive can take over half an hour in Seattle traffic. I am sitting in the passenger seat of Edward's shiny silver car—one I vaguely recognize as some sporty Volvo—twiddling my thumbs.

It's not that I'm nervous about sitting in his car with him. It's the fact that the last time we did this, we were in high school. Edward had been insistent on driving me home, promising Alice that I would arrive in one piece.

For a flicker of a second, it shocks me that he still listens to Debussy in the car, but I remember that Edward's habits are hard to break. Then I notice him rubbing the back of his neck—another habit he hasn't let go of. He must be as nervous as I am right now.

We pull up to my building, and I'm not quite ready to show how safe I feel with Edward by giving him the security code to my building's underground parking garage. I get out of the passenger seat, walk around to the other side of the car, punch in the six digit code, run back around, and we luckily end up parked in a spot close to the elevator. He turns off his car, but neither one of us makes a single move to exit.

He is silent, and I am silent, unsure what to say or do at this point. Do I invite him up? Do I simply thank him and shake his hand bye? Do I hug him? Should I seriously just run away? I am so bad at this.

Despite my brain running a million miles a second, I notice a slight smirk playing at the corner of his lips. He then asks, "What are you thinking, Bella?" Even though it should agitate me that he already seems to remember how to read me, I just smile at him.

"I should probably be getting inside," I respond without actually answering his question. "I need to figure out what to do about dinner without Alice."

"Yeah …" Edward starts but pauses, and I'm hoping he is completely at a loss of how to ask me out. I'm quite confident this is what he is trying to do, or maybe I'm simply being an egotistical fanatic in this moment.

I finally gather the confidence to say something about it.

"Do you want to come up?" I can feel a blush warming up my cheeks, but I ignore it. If I can't have the self-assurance to get reacquainted with an old friend, then I have no assurances in anything. But he hadn't been just a friend, had he?

His green eyes stare right into mine, and I feel more dragonflies invade the pit of my stomach. His tongue darts out to lick his bottom lip, and butterflies mix in with the dragonflies and begin to mate. Baby dragonbutters—_what?_—start flying around, and if I'm not careful, they might end up all over his dashboard.

I begin wondering how much he remembers of me from back in high school, and if Edward can forgive my rambling, because unfortunately, it is something I still do and will probably do for the rest of my life. Especially if Edward will be around. Yet again—_what_? Why do these thoughts keep popping up this week?

"I would love that," he finally says, his hand flying to his neck, his nervous habit making its reappearance.

Without taking another glance at him, I jump out of the car, hoping that he is interested in following me. I am too nervous to stop and converse with him again. It had been so easy while he was driving.

I push the button for the elevator to take us up, and it instantly dings. It's at this point that he catches up to me, stepping inside the elevator right behind me, though he doesn't say anything.

We reach the first floor, only two stories up from the bottom of the garage, in less than ten seconds. I thank the cosmos that the normal security guard isn't at the front desk, because I am not up for a full interrogation at the moment. I just want to get up to my place with Edward.

"Sorry," I apologize to him, careful to not stare too long at his beautiful face. "We have to take another elevator." I push the button for the fifth floor. I'm tugging on my briefcase, readjusting it for the umpteenth time because I am so _fucking_ nervous. You would think from the way I am acting, I have never brought a man to my place before, let alone even date in the past. Which isn't very far from the truth—that's more Alice's forte than mine.

Finally, I am unlocking the door to my place, and both Edward and I head inside. Without a backward glance, I set all my work stuff down in the small dining room that is settled between the kitchen to the right and the living room to the left.

"So…" I say, nervously wringing my hands, "this is our place."

Without a second for a pause, he asks for a tour. His crooked grin and almost begging eyes cause me to cave in.

I show him the kitchen first. It's the room that is used the least, meaning it is also the cleanest. The main thing I love about this kitchen is how modern it is without making me feel like I'm drowning in a sea of contemporary looks. On the opposite wall from where we walked in are four large floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out onto the Seattle skyline. This is a dream kitchen, and I wish that I had more time to cook a full meal from scratch.

Then I show him the living room, which he should have at least already had a good look at. There's a full-length couch and a loveseat and both incredibly comfortable. I wouldn't let Alice put anything in this room that I wasn't capable of falling asleep on if I needed to—or wanted to.

I'm really nervous when I show him my room, but I figure I should really hurry and do it instead of him asking—while I stand in front of him with that endless pit taking over my stomach. I simply open the door, let him peek in, and shut it again. He doesn't need that good of a look.

"Would you like something to drink?" I ask him, leading us back to the living room and kitchen area, ignoring the third bedroom after mine. I hear him walking behind me and wonder what is going through his mind as he's taking in his surroundings.

I can hear the shuffling of his feet on the hardwood floor behind the island that divides the space between the kitchen and the living room. He replies, "Water would be great." I can feel the weight of his eyes staring at me. "Thanks."

I turn around from where I am standing on the other side of the island, place both of my hands on the concrete top, and look at him, perplexed by his simplicity. "Are you sure?" I cock an eyebrow at Edward. "We have plenty of other things to drink: white wine, red wine, orange juice, even chocolate milk… Pick your poison."

The corner of his mouth twists up into a damn smirk that makes me want to just melt. "I'd love some wine, but maybe we should save that for dinner."

"Water it is then," I respond quickly and turn around, grabbing a glass cup from the cabinet next to the refrigerator, and filling it up with ice and water. Dragonflies are appearing again because I am awfully on edge at the thought of eating dinner with Edward.

A memory flashes in my mind of the day that we had skipped lunch—and all our classes afterwards—to make a trip to Port Angeles. We ate lunch together at this Italian restaurant by the pier then rummaged around some second-hand bookstores.

I used to be so comfortable around him, but having the distance of twelve years between us makes it seem like we are just acquaintances. However, I'm becoming quite at ease around him, even if it has only been a week, and he is now sitting on my favorite bar stool. There's even ridges underneath the bottom from where I have scratched at it so much.

Another memory pops in my head. I remember my first visit to his house after prom. Though I had been surprised by the beautiful glass house, I expected nothing less from Carlisle Cullen, the town's best doctor. I had admired their place, wandering around the huge living room, taking in all the family portraits—Edward and his brother with both their parents together, all of them with identical smiles. I remember being permanently in love with his family before ever meeting them.

I shake my thoughts out of my head, making sure none of my mind's ramblings will make it out through my lips. Suddenly, I remember that Edward is sitting right in front of me, and if I don't quit daydreaming, this moment is going to pass by way too quickly.

A proper meal is something I haven't made at all in the past few months—having lived off frozen dinners, drive-thrus, and delivery service since I moved in. Because of this, there is barely anything in our fridge that I can qualify as decent; nothing remotely satisfying enough to put together to offer Edward.

"Decide on anything yet?" He must have realized my frustration at the lack of ingredients for a meal because I can sense the amusement of the situation in his voice.

"Unless you would like spinach-wrapped cheese cubes or pepperoni pizza rolls, it seems we are out of luck." I shut the fridge and turn around to face him. Edward still has that damn smirk on his lips, and I seriously want to know what is so amusing to him right now. "What?" I ask, shrugging my shoulders and raising my eyebrows—probably a little too dramatic, but hopefully he gets my point.

"Bella, you don't have to actually cook anything for me." He gets up from his seat at the island, comes around to the pantry, and sticks his head in as far as it will go without smashing his handsome face into the box of Captain Crunch I have in there. He really does have a beautiful face, and I really need to stop thinking it. "I'm an easy man to please."

_God, I hope so_.

Honestly, not from what I remember.

"I remember quite the opposite being true," I tell him because, really, no girl was ever good enough for him to date. He was always picky about his clothes and his music choices were never in sync with everyone else at our school. No one else would dare listen to Debussy, let alone recognize the name. I would like to say that he and I were quite similar in those aspects—not fitting in with the crowd, only certain things holding our interests.

Edward turns around and looks me dead in the eyes. "Not when it came to you." He says it so seriously, and, quite honestly, it takes me by surprise. All I can do is continue staring at him, my mouth probably gaping like a fucking fish.

And why does my internal monologue have this tendency to say the word _fuck_ when he's around me?

I notice his arms are full, and that's when he finally unlocks his eyes from mine and sets down half a bag of pretzels, honey mustard, and a box of popcorn. I suddenly miss his eyes looking into mine.

Before I can even finish argument in my head whether to ask him what he meant by his statement, he starts opening the freezer and takes out the bag of pizza rolls.

I find it really unusual that I am comforted by the fact that Edward is somewhat making himself at home by perusing my cabinets in search of whatever it is that he needs. I'm so in love with this feeling I have enveloping me. It feels like we are—in our own way—reconnecting, that when he reaches the cabinet all the way at the opposite end, it doesn't completely cross my mind.

It only registers where he has ended up when he pulls out a bright blue cup with drawings of red and yellow cars all over it.

My back suddenly straightens. I race over to him, snatch the toddler cup out of his hand, and stick it back into the cabinet. Somehow, I hope that by pretending to be Speedy Gonzalez, he won't notice what it was that I have just yanked out of his gripping fingers.

However, the look on his face lets me know that my hopes are all thrown out the window, most likely swinging around the Space Needle in my peripheral view.

"It's not what you think, Edward," I quickly say, unsure of what else to tell him at the moment.

"Do you have a kid, Bella?" he asks, confusion thrown all over his face.

Well shit.

Could I simply lie to him and declare it belongs to the neighbor's boy that I babysit every so often? Probably not because there are about ten other toddler cups and ten matching kiddy bowls in the cabinet. If he were to sit on my couch, he would discover and pull out about fifty missing Hot Wheels cars.

Should I tell him that Alice is the one with a child living with us? Definitely not. Alice is currently dating Edward's best friend, and it would spiral into a destructive whirlwind.

If I want to rekindle our lost friendship, I will have to tell him the truth.

So much for wondering how much of my life story I need to tell him.

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**A/N: **Thank you so much to those of you that have reviewed or put this story on your alert or favorites list! You have no idea how much that means to me :) Can we possibly shoot for over 10 reviews for this chapter? Let me know what you think about the story so far and what you think might happen next!

Thank you so much to the wonderful people over at **Project Team Beta** for being so spectacular at what they do and taking our stories and helping us all out!

Follow me on **Twitter**: ninajunkie


	4. The Doctor Delivers

**Disclaimer: **All recognizable characters from the Twilight Series are copyright to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended. All original characters are mine.**  
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**Chapter Four  
The Doctor Delivers**

I am kind of annoyed at how much I have been revisiting my history this past week. Hell, even the past couple of months. Ever since I set foot off the airplane in Port Angeles, memories of my past keep slapping me in the face. Even so, I really shouldn't be complaining because all of these memories are actually the best moments of my life.

Edward and I sit at my dining room table with a feast of snack foods at our disposal. We have a plate of cold pizza rolls, a bag of extra buttery popcorn, a tray of mozzarella cheese cubes with grapes, mini pretzel twists with a honey-mustard dipping sauce, and after much persuasion, my box of beloved Captain Crunch cereal. We have also been sipping on some red wine that Edward promised earlier that he would have with dinner.

It's amazing he hasn't actually run out the door yet, screaming for dear life. We have been sitting here for at least the past half an hour which has consisted mostly of me talking about the past four years of my life.

I told about the time when Alice and I had been about halfway through our obstetrics and gynecology residency when some interesting things began happening around the hospital. There was an unfortunate overflow of residents and interns and the attending doctors had to rearrange the schedule quite a bit. They had to make sure that everyone could get their hours and still accommodate us all in our areas until the errors could be sorted out.

Since I have always been the type of person to never say no to authority, I readily agreed when they sent me to the fertility clinic. What I hadn't known was that my entire life was going to change that day.

I was only twenty-six years old, and at that point, I had no desire to have children—at least not within the upcoming decade. Despite having studied obstetrics for years, it was still hard to process that there were hundreds of people that went to the clinic every week that had were unable to become pregnant. It was even harder to know that I could.

Before the day had been over, I had a thirty-nine year old woman crying in my arms when her lab tests had offered only bad news. All I had been instructed to do was to educate the patient on her next steps and schedule her for a follow-up visit. I wasn't supposed to offer up my body to become a surrogate.

That's right—in less than twenty-four hours I went from not wanting children to planning on artificially inseminating my body. How much of a sucker could I really be?

After some reassurances in my thought process, I realized that I was offering a second chance to a family that really deserved it. It quickly became clear that a good endeavor was being done.

The next day, the couple and I went to the surrogacy clinic that our hospital normally referred to, and we filled out all of the necessary paperwork. The agency quickly obtained lab orders for all three of us, paperwork to complete our background checks, and gave us a list of available lawyers to assess the legal matters in the case.

Before I knew it, just over a month had gone by, and I was officially able to legally carry a baby for another couple—strangers that would eventually coddle and raise this baby. I had given them a chance to finally let their life feel complete.

Another month later, I was pregnant.

"For nine months, I did everything that was necessary," I told him, twirling my hair around my fingers. "I was neurotic about taking the prenatal vitamins every day, did pregnancy yoga—at the request of the biological mother—and Pilates, and traded bacon cheeseburgers for grilled chicken and broccoli. I could no longer eat raw cookie dough, had to limit my caffeine intake, and allowed myself to be prodded and poked every other week."

"But what happened? You clearly ended up with the baby," Edward mentions, continuing to mindlessly nibble on the same pretzel twist he had been eating for the past couple minutes.

"Before we were able to sign the final legal documents with the lawyer, all three of us were required to meet with a psychologist. That's why it took over a month for me to become pregnant—they wanted to make sure we were all fully committed." I grab a handful of my Captain Crunch cereal and pop a couple pieces in my mouth. "There was only one clause within the legal paperwork that would allow either party to forfeit." I divert my eyes away from his, staring out the large glass window behind him, looking at the Space Needle clear in the distance.

"And that was…" Edward is so curious about my life and the parts of my past that didn't involve him. I have been indulging every one of his questions because I feel like someone truly cares for me.

"Death," I say outright as I look into his eyes once more. "I was twenty-one weeks along. They just started decorating their nursery for a baby boy when they were both in a fatal car accident."

He rubs a forceful hand across his face in distress. I feel like he is living through these memories with me, as though they are emotionally affecting him as well. "No way," he exclaims, so painfully.

"I had been so distraught and completely overtaken by grief that I had no idea what to do." I have already relived those moments so many times before, so now that I am recalling it to Edward, it feels like I am reading straight from a book I have memorized. "Alice told me to meet with the lawyer; he had already called me a handful of times." I pop the last few pieces of cereal into my mouth and wash it down with the last few drops of wine in my glass.

Before I continue, Edward adds a bit more wine in my glass and offers me the last few grapes in the bowl.

"The lawyer told me that, in the end, the most basic options I had were to put the baby up for adoption or keep him." I feel tears beginning to prick at my eyes, but I blink them away before they can cloud my eyesight. "No grandparents were involved, so it was my sole decision."

"You decided to keep him," he states matter-of-factly.

"Really, the first thing that entered my mind was to give him up. My intentions were not to become a mother when I decided to become a surrogate. I wanted to experience the process and then give a miracle to a deserving couple."

After everything that has happened, Alice is the only one that has been able to fully understand the actions that I have decided to make. Charlie always supported me, but never understood why I wanted to experience it early on and not simply wait until I was ready to become a mother. My own mother was too immature to have understood at the time—still doesn't. So it really baffles me as to why I have this gut feeling that Edward will understand me.

"After a few weeks of mentally going back and forth about it, I decided on keeping him. A part of me felt like I couldn't just give away the son of the couple I had just spent nearly six months bonding with. They had trusted me enough to take care of their unborn child. I felt like I would have punched their trust in the face if their son were to be with someone they didn't approve of."

A huge smile grows on Edward's face, looking as though he found a huge treasure chest filled with golden coins. With all the information I have just revealed to him, I'm positive that he is quite close.

"What?" I question, looking utterly confused.

"You always did have a big heart, Bella." Gosh, how perfect is this man? I shrug my shoulders, desperately trying to keep my teenage swooning tendencies at bay.

"It felt like the right thing to do," I tell him nonchalantly. "I have never regretted my decision. Tyler is the best thing that has happened to me." I finally return Edward's grin with an even bigger one, reflecting the truth in my statement.

"How were your feelings about it?" he asks, his smile faltering for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"You couldn't have decided to keep the baby just because of the couple. There had to be something inside of yourself that pushed you in the end." Edward definitely seemed to always find these hidden parts and know exactly what questions to ask.

"Of course there was." I could practically feel my heart swelling, thinking back to that moment. "Even though initially my plans were to stay off the mommy track, I couldn't help to imagine how it would be. Sometimes my thoughts would wander away from me and these scenarios would play in my mind: me witnessing his first smile, learning to walk with me holding his hands, and one day he would call me mommy." Tears are pooling in my eyes again and I just know that they are close to falling down my cheeks.

"So you just changed your mind?" he asks, curiosity written all over his face and in his voice.

"I have never been able to find the exact words to project how my feelings had changed. Honestly, I know that it wasn't instantaneous and that it built more and more every time I would imagine another moment with him. I eventually loved the idea of being this amazing little boy's mom."

Edward smiles at me again—a genuine and elated grin. I smile back at him and he knows that I will gradually continue to open up about the details.

"Where is he, by the way?" he asks, his brows furrowing as realization hit him—there obviously should be a three year old running around, creating and amplifying chaos.

"Charlie has him until next Friday. My dad loves having him around, and since we're in Washington, he took two weeks for vacation." I feel that our conversation is about to come to a close, so I grab most of the half empty plates and take them around to the kitchen.

"Is it hard for you?" Edward asks. I turn around to face him, a questioning look upon my face. "Being away from him for such a long time?" He moves to stand up as well, reaching for a couple bowls and the almost full bag of popcorn.

I answer him as he's throwing remnants of our dinner away. "Incredibly. But it's good for him to spend time with his family." I sit back down at the table and add a bit more to our empty wine glasses. "Plus, he's three years old, and a break from his rowdiness and pandemonium is very welcomed."

Edward sits back down next to me and gives me a knowing smile.

"Fine, I give in," rolling my eyes. "After the first couple hours, I drove myself insane thinking about how settled down the house was." Absolute truth. It drove me crazy when he was loud and then it drove me crazy without his loudness.

It was nice when Alice was home and she could keep me occupied. It's even better that Edward is here keeping me company. Even though we have been talking about my son for the past half an hour, and I do miss him terribly, I have been at ease with Edward here.

For a quick moment, I am wondering what it would be like if the two of them were to ever meet. I mentally slap myself for suggesting such a thing. If they were to meet it would be under only two circumstances: Edward and I were to become best friends again or we were in a serious relationship. When I say serious, I mean that wedding bells are playing music in my overbearing conscious.

Edward is looking at me over the rim of his wine glass, and I feel the cogs and gears in my mind spinning at top speed, wanting to move my mind at a hundred miles a second. My lips want to move, and my throat wants to let my brain's words escape. I don't want to ruin this wonderful evening, so I keep my lips closed.

Still, the dragonflies are beginning to make an appearance as I shift under his unwavering gaze. I notice a look of amusement in his green eyes and realize he's enjoying this. I shift in my seat, taking a longer than normal sip of my wine.

My mind has slowly become foggy over the three glasses of wine, but Edward's beautiful face and wonderful smell of his musky, fading cologne keep me grounded.

"I've missed you, Bella," he tells me, causing the dragonflies in my stomach to want to spurt out of my mouth. Words want to spill out with them.

_I've missed you so much, Edward. When I left Washington, all I could think about was you and wonder why your calls slowly faded. You have no idea how many times it crossed my mind to hop on a plane and hunt you down at the dorm rooms at Washington State. My best friend slowly became a stranger, and God, Edward—I missed you more than I'll ever tell you._

Hopefully my thoughts didn't portray themselves on my face. Honestly, though, I felt that strongly about what we had together. I still haven't said anything in return, and there is no way in hell I want to blow Edward off.

"I missed you, too, Edward." There is no need to force a smile because one comes naturally.

I reach my hand out to touch his, slowly caressing the soft skin of his palm. I have missed these hands. I miss having them gently touch my cheek. I miss him sneaking them up the back of my shirt, moving on my naked skin to rest on the small of my back. I terribly miss the way he would sometimes reach out when we walked to hold my hand in his.

This insane, obsessive part of me wishes so desperately that we had never stopped talking or that we had run into each other sooner. Maybe then, Edward would have been able to know Tyler since the beginning. A deeper feeling inside me comes out to play when the thought of Edward possibly fathering my child enters my mind.

Edward would be such a wonderful dad.

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**A/N:** Sorry about this insanely huge long wait... It's been almost 3 months! I hate to give all your wonderful readers any excuses but I had started on some new medications and they completely turned me around. But all is better and hopefully chapter 5 will be up soon!

Thank you so much to the wonderful people over at **Project Team Beta** for being so spectacular at what they do and taking our stories and helping us all out!

Follow me on **Twitter**: ninajunkie


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